Overview
- Bucks County officials publicly named William Schrader, a deceased repeat abuser, as responsible for the rape and murder of 9-year-old Carol Ann Dougherty at St. Mark’s Church in Bristol in 1962.
- A 53-page investigating grand jury report, approved by President Judge Raymond F. McHugh, details the evidence and serves as the official determination since Schrader died in 2002.
- Pennsylvania State Police hair analysis in 1993 found Schrader was the only person not eliminated as the source of a pubic hair clutched in the victim’s hand after testing 141 samples.
- Investigators cited eyewitness accounts placing Schrader near the church, his false alibi and flight from the area, and a confession he later made to his stepson describing the assault and killing.
- Authorities said recent attempts to build a DNA profile from preserved evidence, including work sent to commercial labs, did not yield usable results, but the finding brought long-sought closure to the family.